Top 5 Tools In My Wedding Cake Delivery Toolkit
Let’s be honest: wedding cake deliveries are stressful, even when everything arrives in one piece. But, just in case you are caught in a situation that’s not exactly a piece of cake, I’ve compiled a set of cake decorating tools and other must-have items to make sure you’re prepared for anything! Read on to learn the essentials to pack in your wedding cake delivery tool kit and why!
Wedding Cake Delivery Toolkit
01. Off-Set Spatula + Piping Bag of Buttercream
Trust me, having this off-set spatula and extra buttercream are essential in my cake delivery toolkit! I have had heavy tiered wedding cakes suction to the refrigerator shelf at a backyard wedding. I have had to patch and smooth out cracks in around the base of a buttercream cake after a delivery down an rocky, washed out dirt road. Because my favorite off-set spatula is extra thin, but very strong, it is the best tool to get out of a sticky situation (pun intended).
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02. Floral Tape, Kitchen Shears and Straws
Floral tape and kitchen shears are both must haves on cake deliveries for a few reasons:
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I usually find cake flowers at the venue in a vase of water that have not been prepared yet.
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When the cake flowers have been prepped by a florist with wire and floral tape, sometimes they are too long. Therefore, I have to trim the wire and re-tape them.
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Sometimes the couple will have added cake flowers last minute through their florist without confirming with me. Bringing tools to prepare and safely apply flowers to the cake on the spot has become a necessity!
TIP: after wrapping flower stems in floral tape, before inserting flower stems into the cake, slide a plastic drinking straw over the stem! This is a lifesaver if you can’t find food-safe floral tape to wrap the flower stems in!
03. Nitrile Gloves
For my wedding cake deliveries, I used to just bring a pair of gloves in a bag. Now, I bring an entire box of gloves. Gloves tear easily, especially when I am working with a tight timeframe and only brought one pair. Additionally, I change my gloves between each dessert that contains popular food allergens. I also always wear gloves when I prepare flowers at the venue to protect my hands from any cake flowers/greenery that may be irritating to my skin. Even non-toxic cake flowers, can cause skin reactions. Trust me, the last thing you want on a delivery is welts on your hands!
A note on glove material: Latex gloves should be avoided for food use to protect others with latex allergies from being exposed to food handled with latex. Personally, I prefer nitrile or vinyl gloves for handling food, but there are other latex-free alternatives as well!
04. A Dry Towel
I find that having a clean dry towel is helpful to wipe away crumbs on the edges of platters after setting out mini desserts.
05. A Lint Roller
Newly added to my wedding cake delivery kit is a lint roller. After applying cake flowers or setting up desserts, there’s often a few pieces of greenery or crumbs that have fallen on the table. When there is a white table cloth, I love to use the lint roller to pick up any food particles so I can avoid creating stains from brushing crumb off the table cloth. Plus, I don’t leave a crumbly mess on the venue floor either!
Packing Up The Cake and Desserts For Delivery
Bonus: Dessert Containers and Coolers
I use Plastic Food Containers with Lids to pack up my mini desserts. The containers fit in my favorite Insulated Catering Cooler Bags with strips of Ice Packs around them. I love how I can reliably keep my desserts perfectly chilled at safe cold temperatures on deliveries! I always tape the lids on and use a non-slip liner between containers.
The CakeSafe Box
Note: If you have watched my cake stacking videos on Instagram, you will see me using a wooden center dowel. I do NOT usually use the center dowel that comes with the CakeSafe box. I have only used the metal dowel a few times when I have a steep delivery or will be in stop-and-go traffic. Honestly, I use the box mostly to keep my cakes protected from weather and for the sturdy base that keeps my cakes from shifting in the car. *I do not have a partnership with CakeSafe, I simply love how stress free my cake deliveries have become since I began using their box!*
I hope this helps you prepare for your cake deliveries this upcoming wedding season!